England vs Spain LIVE: Result and final score as Lionesses defeat world champions at Wembley
England 1-0 Spain: Jess Park scored the only goal at Wembley as the Lionesses defeated the world champions
England defeated Spain at Wembley as Jess Park’s goal secured victory for the Lionesses in the rematch of the Women’s World Cup final.
Park’s finish from close range, following Alessia Russo’s turn and dribble into the box, secured England their best victory in almost 18 months and will give Sarina Wiegman’s side hope ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
World champions Spain had plenty of chances at Wembley, with Lucia Garcia hitting the crossbar early in the game and England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton having to make a string of important saves in the second half.
But England survived waves of pressure to close out victory. England drew their opening Nations League match in Portugal but victory against Spain, who defeated Belgium on Friday, is a boost to their chances of reaching the finals.
Follow all the latest updates from Wembley in our live blog below:
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The highlight of the night
One goal made the difference, and Jess Park has already called it one of the most memorable of her career! Take another look here.
Hampton on fight for the number one shirt
Hannah Hampton has weighed in on the race for the England number one shirt after playing a key role in tonight’s win.
Whether she or Mary Earps will start at the Euros has been a key part of the narrative surrounding tonight’s match, and such a display from Hampton will certainly boost her stock as Wiegman makes her decision.
Hampton remains humble though, saying: “I am just here to play my own game, I know what I can bring to the team. Mary is a brilliant goalkeeper, you’ve seen that in the last few tournaments. I am focusing on myself. When I am happy I play my best football, I just have to put myself in the shop window.”
Sarina Wiegman: Togetherness and fight won England the game
Sarina Wiegman speaks to ITV at full-time, citing England’s team spirit as a key factor in their win.
On the performance: “I think the whole game was very impressive, very high tempo, very intense. The work the team put in and the togetherness, that showed off today.”
On Jess Park’s goal: “I think she needed that too, this performance helps us a lot. We have been working so hard but think shave not gone our way. Now it goes. Jess grew into the pace of the game and did really well.”
On England’s self-belief: “Winning always helps and we know where we want to go. We just want to improve every single day. The best thing is the togetherness and the fight that we put in today. Next time when we play Belgium we will want to take it to the next level again.”
The full time stat board
The full time numbers make for unpleasant reading for Spaniards among the audience. It was a game of fine margins, and Spain were arguably unfortunate to come off second best.
The visitors’ attack operated on a quantity-over-quality basis, with just five shots on target out of 20 attempted. Seven corners came to nought, as did the near 60% possession they enjoyed.
Hannah Hampton’s five saves kept England in the game, allowing them to take full advantage of the one goal they managed.
Jess Park speaks after scoring winning goal: "Its a brilliant feeling"
Jess Park speaks to ITV at full-time, saying that she may never forget this night,
On England’s performance: “I thought we were really good in and out of possession, we battled hard in and out of possession and came out with the win which is so good.”
On whether this will give the team confidence: “Loads of confidence, loads of belief, and we will take it through to our next games.”
How did it feel to score the winner? “Yeah, probably, it's a brilliant feeling! I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”
FT: England 1-0 Spain
England weather the storm through an injury-time onslaught to pick up three points which will live long in the memory.
Jess Park’s first half goal ultimately made the difference, with Bronze, Bright, Williamson and Hampton preventing Spain from flipping the narrative as they poured forward at every opportunity. Despite Bonmati and Caldentey’s best efforts, it was a battling defensive display from England that ultimately won out.
It is a statement win ahead of England’s Euros defence campaign in the summer.
Reaction to come...
England 1-0 Spain
90mins: Spain go close yet again as Hampton swats away a dangerous cross. A follow-up cross comes close, but Castillo’s header goes wide. Maybe it just isn’t meant to be for Spain tonight?
Five minutes added on.
England 1-0 Spain
86 mins: How on Earth has that stayed out? Its another huge chance for Lauren James, who receives the ball in acres of space thanks to a tidy cross from Clinton, firing a powerful shot at goal.
Coll makes the save but spills it, but just about manages to collect the ball before the approaching Chloe Kelly can sneak the rebound.
England 1-0 Spain
83mins: Subs aplenty with seven minutes remaining. Parralluelo comes off in favour of Redondo, and Aleixandri makes way for Maite Zubieta. England introduce Jess Naz for Toone.
Parralluelo returning to the bench may well be the best thing to have happened to England in the second half.
England 1-0 Spain
78 mins: Parralluelo continues to pose a tangible threat. She burns Niamh Charles and breaks into the box, pulling back a neat cross, but there is no red shirt in the area to meet it.
Just over 10 minutes remaining as England defend an uncertain lead.
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